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THE GOSPEL AND TRUE WOMANHOOD WHY SOFT WARRIORS DISCUSSIONS? Create "safe harbors" for God's people to confess, repent, and welcome accountability for change. God’s grace is an agent of change. The roaring lion waits in the cover of darkness to attack what he finds there, but "whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God" (John 3:21). Let us help the women in our churches experience the freedom of living in the light.

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We need to back up and review God's biblical design of manhood and womanhood. To see how it is distorted in a myriad of ways.

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Genesis 1: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

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Genesis 1: So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. IMAGE BEARERS: His image and likeness

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Genesis 1:26 IMAGE BEARERS: in Hebrew the expression is “in our image, in our likeness.” Which means that God made human beings to BE His image and likeness. Believers-> (Eph.4:24, Col. 3:10)- are becoming more Christlike. True, we are corrupted images of God, defiled by sin (Genesis 3) but in Christ we are restored to the original garden. Christ is our righteousness.

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Genesis 1:26 IMAGE BEARERS The term “image of God” is applied to every human being: male & female He created them. ALL human beings are valuable. (Ps. 8:3-8) Cultural mandate Genesis 1:28-30 Completed through the Gospel mandate Matthew 28:18-20

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Genesis 1: And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

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Genesis 2: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

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Genesis 2: Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

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Genesis 3 Why is everything so bad? Creation, Fall, Redemption, Renewal Genesis 3 The Fall Adam and Eve’s sin brought themselves and their descendants (all of humankind) under the grip of sin, guilt and made them and all people ashamed and fearful before God (Genesis 3:7-11). The original human pair were cursed with expectations of pain and death and expelled from the paradise of Eden (Genesis 3:14-24)

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Why is everything so bad? Creation, Fall, Redemption, Renewal Genesis 3 The Fall The entire creation was placed under a divine curse because of Adam and Eve’s sin. The present disharmony of nature that often makes the world a hostile environment for all living things resulted from the fall (Romans 8:20-23) God began even in the days of Adam and Eve to show mercy through His promise that the woman’s seed would one day crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). This promise was fulfilled by Christ, who redeems His people and restores creation to its rightful order (Romans 8:20- 21, Revelation 21:1-5)

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Several things we take away from Genesis 1,2,3. God's biblical design of manhood and womanhood. *Men/Headship: is the divine calling of a husband to take primary responsibility for Christ-like, servant leadership, protection and provision in the home. Initiative. *Women/Submission: is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts. Softness.

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Softness is at the core of what it means to be a woman. Forming deep relational bonds is at the core of what it means to be a woman. Having a receptive, responsible spirit is at the core of what it means to be a woman. Creating a place to beget and nurture life is at the core of what it means to be a woman. Woman’s role is not a secondary one. Men cannot fulfill humanity’s purpose without her help.

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Manhood & Womanhood exist to glorify God and put the Gospel of Jesus Christ on display. God created men to image the relationship of Christ to the church and this has significant implications for male-female relationships. God created women to image the relationship of the church to Christ, and this has significant implication for male- female relationships.

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Satan tempted and tricked the first woman to go against God’s design. Eve and Adam’s sin marred the created beauty of male-female relationships. Sin severely damaged manhood and womanhood. The “women’s movement” is merely another chapter in the primordial battle that has existed throughout history.

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Our culture promotes a model of womanhood that differs substantially from God’s design. True womanhood involves an intentional choice to do things His way. As you embrace God’s divine design, He’ll give you a dramatic makeover from the inside out and will transform your womanhood into a thing of beauty.

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You can be a part of a quiet counterrevolution of women who intentionally and purposefully live their lives according to God’s divine design.

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What are some ways that you can think of that God’s design is now distorted ?? *Men/Headship: is the divine calling of a husband to take primary responsibility for Christ-like, servant leadership, protection and provision in the home. Initiative. *Women/Submission: is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts. Softness.

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Ladies… Your life is to display the glory of Christ in its highest expression. True womanhood can flourish in marriage and singleness. True womanhood is strategic and was made for the glory of Jesus Christ. (Gen.1:27, Eph.5:31,Gen.2:24)

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Ladies… True womanhood is a distinctive calling of God to display the glory of His Son in ways that would not be displayed if there were no womanhood.

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DEFINITION OF SUBMISSION Submission is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts. Biblical submission is not as much an “action” as it is an “attitude.” (Taken from Eph. 5:22-24,1 Peter 3:4-5)

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DEFINITION OF SUBMISSION Practical Theology for Singles Biblical Submission is speaking up and stating your case to those over you (who are not asking you to sin) and then if opinions deferring, differing to authority with gladness. Whether it is in school, work, parents, church leaders, practice respecting and submitting to the authority God has currently in your life. You are ultimately submitting to God, always. Remember: Biblical submission is not as much an “action” as it is an “attitude.”

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SOFT WARRIORS Practical Theology for all Women Biblical submission is not as much an “action” as it is an “attitude.” What does it mean to be a soft warrior?? *Repeating the Gospel to ourselves so that we can put into practice as an on-going basis daily to be women who are soft, receptive and respectful. *Encouraging and supporting in every area God’s biblical design for manhood and womanhood.

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SOFT WARRIORS Practical Theology What does it mean to be a soft warrior? Why should I be a soft warrior? How do I become a soft warrior? THE GOSPEL Wimpy theology makes for wimpy women. God has not called us to be wimpy women. He has created and called us to be Soft Warriors in His Kingdom. Wimpy theology simply does not give a woman a God that is big enough, strong enough, wise enough, and good enough to handle the realities of life in away that magnifies the infinite worth of Jesus Christ. Wimpy theology is plagued by woman-centeredness and man-centeredness. Wimpy theology doesn’t have the granite foundation of God’s sovereignty or the solid steel structure of a great God-centered purpose for all things. - Piper